The Sound of Compost

I'll admit, it's a rare and unusual circumstance when I'm inspired to write, but this composting blog is serving multiple purposes. First, to share my experience with others and document the composting process for myself. And second, to force myself to write. As an analytical econ/math girl, writing is not only a struggle, but a process that I sometimes actually dread. Just the thought of writing makes me anxious. And despite my fear of writing, I constantly feel jealous of those who can write and envy the ease at which they can. Hence, my self improvement has started here.

That being said, I came home from work today and found myself inspired to write. Well, not necessarily inspired to write, but inspired to share. I went out to get the mail and on the way back in, decided to peek into my compost bin - it's so addicting! I ended up sitting on the steps with my face in the bin for 20 minutes, completely mesmorized.

At first glance, I noticed 2 things: 1) Two new sprouts had formed, which is just as exciting as the first sprout and 2) Bugs. There are bugs everywhere and I'm not sure how I feel about it. They're incredibly tiny and some look like spiders and some look like small white lint. I know I should be grossed out, but at the time, I was only mesmorized. It was amazing. The bin actually sounds alive. Similar to the snap, crackle, pop of rice crispies, but much more subtle.

I did some research and I think my bin may be too moist. I'm going to experiment with leaving the lid off for periods of time and hopefully the bug issue will slow down. Wish me luck!

In Defense of Compost

I never thought it would be such an issue, but several people have questioned my motives for composting. They don't understand the reasons to compost if I'm living in an apartment. In fact, not only have I been questioned, but I get the impression they're implying that my idea is silly and childish. "Okay little girl, you can play house."

Composting is for everyone. I have several houseplants and I plan on creating a small planter on my outside railing. My bin is proportional to my place - small - so it won't produce much. However, I also have plenty of friends who would love rich, healthy soil and worm tea for their gardens.

Additionally, and most importantly, composting is about more than just the output. Not only am I creating soil, but I am reducing my waste. It's the cradle to cradle concept. We are all lucky to live in a system with trash cans on every corner and weekly pick-ups from our personal homes. One common topic in San Diego news has always been the Miramar landfill. San Diego has so much trash, that our landfill will soon be at maximum capacity! My bin may be small, but I'm a firm believe that small changes make a big difference.

Sprout!

Yesterday, I chopped up and added 2 week old snap peas to the compost. I decided to turn the pile a few times and suddenly noticed that a tiny sprig had sprouted!!! I'm not sure exactly how it happened, but it felt wonderful to see real life (sans the worms). It reminded me of the movie Wall-E, where an adorable robot carries around a plant that represents the first sign of life on a trash ridden, desolate earth.

Unfortunately, as I turned the pile, I may have killed my sprig's roots, so no pictures, but believe me, it was there!

Coming along...

So far, so good! The worms appear to be doing real work. I haven't added any more food, but I take a peek every few days. I've also sprayed them a couple times with water and turned the pile to aerate.

Sometimes it's hard to tell if everything is rotting or if the worms are actually turning the compost into soil. I think I'll get a better feel in a few weeks once they've multiplied and eaten up most of the food and paper. I did notice a smell last night, so I cracked the lid and by this morning, the pile smelled like soil! Perhaps the holes aren't large enough.

My biggest concern so far is that I don't have a fully shaded spot for them. Bright light shines on the bin for half the day, but I don't have many options in my small complex. One day I had to bring the bin inside because I was worried about the heat.

The beginning

Day 1: After thinking about it for months and taking a free workshop (with very enthusiastic elderly volunteers), I finally started my vermicompost!

If you aren't familiar with composting, there are two basic methods. The first involves mixing "browns" - carbon (such as leaves, paper, twigs) with "greens" - nitrogen (such as food scraps). The mix reacts and heats up the pile, which then needs to be turned and aerated. However, if you live in a small apartment, with no yard, this is nearly impossible. The solution: vermicomposting. This method still has many of the same ingredients, but can be smaller and instead of heating up, the worms will do the work.

I started with two dark plastic storage totes (rubbermaid and sterilite are recommended, but I wanted something smaller and found one during college season at Target). I drilled holes in the bottom and along the top sides of one bin. Then placed the 1st bin in the 2nd (pictures will be posed soon). I added bedding of wet shredded paper and a bag of worms/dirt from Danielle and Chris' compost pile.

I will admit, the worms sorta creeped me out. I think in time, I will probably get used to handling them with my bare hands. Today, I squealed when one of the worms stuck to the bag and I had to leer it out using a shredded paper.

After the worms, I added a banana peel and some broken up egg shells along with more damp bedding on top.

My only concern is that I may have been over zealous with the bedding. It looks like a giant pile of shredded paper, but hopefully they'll do their magic and create some good soil soon! (ps - I'm still getting used to blogging, sorry if the formatting is weird....)